India Between 750 CE and 1200 CE

Background 

The period between CE 750 and CE 1200 is referred to as early medieval period of Indian history. Some historians treated this period as a ‘Dark Phase’ because during this time the whole country was divided into numerous regional states which were busy fighting each other.  

But recent studies have indicated that though politically divided into numerous regional states, India witnessed a growth of new and rich cultural activities in the fields of art, literature and language. 

In fact, some best specimens of temple architecture and Indian literature belong to this period. Thus far from being ‘dark’ it may be treated as a bright and vibrant phase of Indian history.

Political Development 

The political development of this period can be better understood if we divide this period into 2 parts – 750 CE to 1000 CE and 1000 CE to 1200 CE.

The first phase was marked by the growth of three important political powers in India – Palas in eastern India, Gurjara Pratiharas in northern India, and RashtraKutas in south India.  These three powers were constantly fighting with each other with an aim to set up their control on Gangetic region in northern India. This armed conflict among these three powers is known as Tripartite Struggle.

In the second phase we notice the break up of these three powers. It resulted in the rise of many smaller kingdoms all over the country. For example, in the northern India, the disintegration of the Pratiharas brought to the forefront various Rajput states under the control of different Rajput  dynasties such as Chauhans, Chandellas, Paramaras, etc. These were the states that fought and resisted the Turkish attacks from north-west India led by Mahmud Ghaznavi and Mohammad Ghori in the 11^th and 12^th century CE.

Tripartite Struggle 

The Gurjara Pratihara dyunasty was founded by Nagabhatta I, a Rajput,  in the Malwa region in the eight century CE.  Later one of his successor Vatsaraja extended his rule over almost whole of north India and made KAnnauj his capital. Vatsaraja’s policy of expansion brought him in conflict with Dharmapala, the Pala king of eastern India. Soon the Rashtrakuta king Dhruva from south India jumped into the fight and thus begin the Tripartite Struggle, i.e. struggle for supremacy among the three powers. It continued for about the next 150 years under various succeeding kings. The Gurjara Pratiharas however, could maintain its hold over most of the north  India for long as well as continued with Kannauj as capital.

The Imperial Cholas 

In south India, the Cholas Kings founded a mighty empire during CE 1000 and1200. They came to power after overthrowing the Pallavas. The empire was founded by Vijaylaya but ht ereal architects were Rajaraja I (985-1014 CE) and his son Rajendra I (1014 – 1044 CE). Their empire extended from River Tungabhadra in north to Kanyakumari in south. The Cholas made successful use of their nave and conquered not only Maldives, Lakjshadweep Islands, Sri Lanka but also Malaya, Java and Sumutra.

Both Rajaraja I and his successor son Rajendra I were both patrons of learning and architecture. The Rajarajeshwara Temple dedicated to Shiva at Tanjore was made by Rajaraja I and many more. Rajendra I made a new capital city Gangaikondacholapuram to mark his win over the Pala king Mahipala. The last important Chola king was Kullotunga (1070 – 1122 CE). Under him the Chola empire started integrating and shrunk to much smaller area.

Nature of Polity 

The state structure in this period has often been described as ‘decentralized’ political system,  a system in which there is a king at the top, who shares his rule with other small chiefs called feudatories or the ‘Samantas’. These ‘Samantas’ were actually the defeated kings who were restored to their former kingdom but under the King. They were given some sort of administrative freedom and in return were supposed to pay the king annual tribute in cash and kind, and also supply the military assistance at time of war. But these chiefs were a constant threat to the king. So whenever a weak king succeeded the empire, some of these strongest Samantas used to arise in rebellion. This exactly happened during the last days of the PRatihara empire that led to the disintegration of the empire.

Another aspect the decentralized polity was characterized was the practice of making land grants to Brahmanas and others. The practice was initiated by Satavahana kings, but after the Guptas it had become a normal practice all over the country. Not only the Brahmanas, but also the officials of the empire were given land grants. Since these land grants were too many and were tax free, so there was a time when the whole country had many pockets of these free land run by the one who was gifted without any imperial controls.

Economy 

Economically the first phase 750 – 1000 CE was of decline evident from the absence of coins for exchange and the decayed condition of towns in northern India. But in the second phase after 1000 CE we notice a revival of trade activities. There seems to be two reasons for this. One, there was increase in agricultural activities on account of land grants in fresh areas, leading to production of surplus for exchange. And second the Arab traders had emerged on the coastal areas of India as important players in international sea trade.

Cultural Developments 

The new regional kingdoms led to the emergence of new regional cultural zones such as Bengal and Orissa in the north, Gujarat and Maharashtra in central India, as well as Andhra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu in the south. The various art forms, languages, literature, etc. that form an important part of our regional cultures today, took their shape around this period. Most the modern Indian languages like Bengali, Assamese, Oriya, Marath I etc developed in this time period, removing the monopoly of Sanskrit. However, Sanskrit continued and retained the place of importance among the elites as a language of learning.

Another activity that received royal patronage was that of temple building. The three types of temple architecture which evolved during the period are known as Nagara, Dravida and Vesar styles during this period.